Corky Siegel often mentions he had three LP records as a kid that changed his life. The three Blues artists were Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Jimmy Reed. Growing up in the southside of...

Victoria Theodore has had some marvelous musical experiences both as a musician and teacher. Her first big gig was a seven-year stint touring with Stevie Wonder in his band. Being classic...

Lisa Silver likes to joke that in country bands she plays the fiddle, and in classical music performances she plays the violin. Yet she is talking about her one instrument! Her father was...

Steve Shelokhonov was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and was classically trained on the piano. As a teenager and young adult, Steve played in underground rock clubs in Russia before mo...

Dallas Smith began playing the clarinet at the age of eleven. By the time he was in high school he was in an all-star group and later focused on classical music throughout college.  His l...

Susan Mazer and her husband, Dallas Smith, established the C.A.R.E. Channel, which serves over a thousand hospitals by providing peaceful and relaxing music 24 hours a day. Their goal was...

Denny Coiro spent over 40 years of his career in the piano industry. As a salesman, Denny worked for several stores over the years and had some wonderful experiences bringing a new instru...

Philip Springer utilized his classical piano training to pen hit songs during a long and celebrated career making music. As a result his tunes often incorporated elements of sophisticatio...

Seymour Bernstein shared great insight into his career and life in music during his NAMM Oral History interview. He proudly spoke of the first moment he put his hands on the white keys of...

Bob Baca teaches trumpet and is the Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, where he approaches his teaching from not only the standpoint of a musician but fro...

Steve Savanyu is the founder and executive producer for Buford T. Hedgehog Productions. His passion for providing sound systems for events goes back to his high school days and led to a 2...

Charles Fox started his music education at an early age, finding an interest in arranging and composition. As a child he loved the opera and would go to as many shows as possible paying $...

Rosa Gil del Bosque was the only female founder of Amigos de la Guitarra de Valencia, an organization dedicated to presenting concerts that showcase the classical guitar in and around Val...

Consuelo Diez was strongly encouraged by her piano teachers growing up. One in particular suggested she focus on composition, which altered her career. As a composer, Consuelo wrote works...

Luis de Pablo was a Spanish classical composer who provided works for symphonies, chamber orchestras, operas, choir and film over his long and successful career. He was born in Bilbao, Sp...

Aaron Friedman was composing in his New York City apartment when he was distracted by the constant sound of car alarms. He took action and helped create a city ordinance, which led to his...

Andrew York has a powerful way of expressing himself, by using his words and his music. With his articulate delivery, he provides a special insight into the drive of playing and composing...

Hubert Laws Jr. is an American flutist and saxophonist with a rich family history in the music industry. Specializing in jazz and classical, Hubert started playing the flute in high schoo...

Tim Miklaucic; If you had asked a college-aged Tim Miklaucic where he thought he’d be in 2018, it certainly wouldn’t be as a CEO & Founder of an industry-leading guitar company & ...

Stephen Pearl was inspired while working with Irv Kratka at Music Minus One to create a series of recordings of Broadway musicals that would provide background music for singers. In 1997,...

Max Cooke was an Australian classically trained pianist and professor who wrote a series of method books to assist his students. He began teaching piano students at the University of Melb...

Garth Hudson sat down at the piano and played several classical works as the NAMM Oral History crew set up the camera and lights. He began by playing, stopping every once in a while, to r...

Tom Gauger was a regular member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for over 40 years and taught percussion at Boston University for over 30 years. Over those decades, he developed several m...

Murray Grodner, along with his first wife Leah, formed Lemur Music, Inc., a catalog business that specialized in the needs of the Double Bassist. His impressive background as bassist, pro...

Christopher Weait attended Potsdam's music program in the late 1950s, the same time as John O'Reilly and Sandy Feldstein.  After teaching music and playing in many orchestras, Christopher...

Jim Swearingen began composing for his students.  He soon realized his music was not only helping students learn to play, but was also encouraging them since the music was similar to popu...

Hans Clebsch began playing French Horn for the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra in 1996.  Since that time he has worked closely with Conn-Selmer, which has a production factory outside of Cle...

Richard King is a principal French horn player for the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra.  He began playing for the orchestra in the 1980s and has enjoyed a long relationship with the nearby C...

John Stavish and his sister took over the music company their parents established in the early 1950s.  John recalls the first milestone of the business was when it moved out of the family...

Theodore Johnson was playing in the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra when he began to think of ideas that would improve his clarinet's mouthpiece.  Over time, he designed his own mouthpiece a...

Emma Lou Diemer has written classical, choral, and even hymns based organ music during her long and successful career as a composer.  Her music has been published by over 40 different mus...

Barbara Scheuch-Vötterle is one of five children of Karl Vötterle who founded the Bärenreiter-Verlag in 1923. After the death of her father 1975, Barbara took over the company and with he...